Three nestling Bullock’s Orioles open their bright pink mouths and demand to be fed, in this case by volunteers who feed them a special passerine diet every hour from sunrise to sunset. They were orphaned mid-July after a windstorm broke the tree branch holding their nest and were brought to the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center still snuggled inside their hanging nest made from fibers, grasses, and bits of soft feathers. Sporting gorgeous amber-yellow breast feathers, they are growing up fast and have just begun eating juicy mealworms. When they’re released back to their summer habitat in Gilroy sometime next month, they will dine on wild bugs such as caterpillars and spiders, as well as fruit. They will also drink from hummingbird nectar feeders in backyards, as well as enjoying halved oranges and suet put out for them.
